Chaos as Cathay Pacific Airbus engine catches fire mid-flight

The engine of a Cathay Pacific Airbus A330-300 malfunctioned and caught fire shortly after take-off early this morning leading to an emergency landing in Singapore.

Firefighters try to put out a fire on the starboard engine of Cathay Pacific CX715 (Photo: REUTERS/Beawiharta)

The passenger plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Singapore when one of its engines caught fire en-route to Jakarta, Indonesia at 1.12am this morning.

Flight CX715 had to turn back to Singapore less than one hour after taking off because of a problem with one of the plane’s engines.

The crew aboard the Airbus, which was carrying 136 passengers at the time of the incident, received a warning from the number two engine that it was having technical difficulties. The crew shut the faulty engine down and the plane was flown to Singapore where it landed safely.

Passengers on Cathay Pacific flight CX715 prepare to disembark from the aeroplane after it landed safely at Changi Airport in Singapore (Photo: REUTERS/Beawiharta)

The runway was back in use within an hour. Rolls Royce, who made the Trent 700 engine that was affected, are conducting investigations into the incident. None of the passengers were injured.A spokesman for Cathay Pacific said ‘The aircraft stopped on the taxiway and sparks from the number two engine were reported. They were doused by fire extinguishers.’We can appreciate the concern and anxiety felt by the passengers during the incident, but our captain and his crew were in control of the situation at all times. They reacted exactly as they are trained to do.’ the spokesman added.

Passengers on Cathay Pacific flight CX715 disembark from the aeroplane after it landed safely at Changi Airport in Singapore (Photo REUTERS/Beawiharta)

The Daily Mail has reported that a photographer for Reuters was aboard the A330-300 with his family. He heard two sharp bangs shortly after take off and he could smell smoke.’Behind us, passengers were praying: ‘God, save our flight! Give us your protection!’ he said.

This is the second incident involving an Airbus. Last November a Quantas A380 had to make an emergency landing in Singapore following an engine defect.